Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 20, 1995 TAG: 9511200066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ranger Dirk Wiley said he had just pulled in to the Peaks of Otter visitors' center at 9:40 Saturday night when he heard a gunshot and saw a vehicle parked about 200 yards away.
Wiley tried to catch the driver, but the man took off south on Virginia 43 toward Bedford. The ranger chased the man for seven miles at speeds up to 75 mph.
The man turned onto Virginia 643 and Virginia 640 in Bedford County, then lost control of his car and ran off the road. He was not injured.
Michael Spence Jr., 18, of Bedford County was arrested at the scene and charged with reckless driving, Wiley said. After park rangers discovered a dead doe in the visitors' center parking lot, Spence also was charged with spotlighting and reckless use of a firearm. Spence was released from Bedford County Jail on Sunday on $1,000 bond.
Wiley said Spence also will face federal charges for hunting in a national park and attempting to evade and elude police.
The shooter may have thought he would be alone, because many government employees were furloughed by the budget impasse. Rangers were still making their regular rounds, however, because they are considered essential federal employees.
Wiley said he suspects others may believe they can score an easy illegal kill. He said he has seen a marked increase in nighttime parkway traffic.
Rangers are investigating several incidents of spotlighting deer.
Park rangers discovered another doe that they think was shot about 8 p.m. Saturday in a field approximately two miles south of the Peaks. No arrests have been made in that case.
The doe found at the visitors' center had been fed by tourists despite warnings from rangers, Wiley said, and shows the bad effects of hand-feeding - deer lose their instinctive fear of people.
by CNB